EPIDEMIOLOGY OF TRACK & FIELD INJURIES: A ONE YEAR EXPERIENCE IN ATHLETIC SCHOOLS

The purpose of this study was to record injuries in track & field events that were sustained by students who attended the athletic schools during a one-year period. From September 2009 to May 2010, the researchers observed 2045 students (883 males and 1163 females), who were participating in track and field events at the mentioned schools. During the study period 150 injuries were recorded, which accounted for 13.3% of all injuries sustained by students. Most of the injuries (34%) according to the diagnosis were sprains and strains and occurred during the months of February, December and January. A large percentage of the injuries (45.4%) were sustained by students who attended the Athletic Schools, which operated in the urban region. Students who attended the second class sustained more injuries than the other classes (first and third). Students who were practising or competing on a tartan playing surface were more likely to sustain an injury. Knee and ankle were the most frequent anatomical sites in which injuries (43.9%) occurred. Additionally, 80.0% of injuries occurred in students who were practising or competing in running events. No statistical differences were observed in all above mentioned parameters amongst male and female students. Physical education (P.E.) teachers should place more emphasis on prevention measures. These measures should include proper supervision of students during training, warming up and cooling down sessions with stretching techniques. By following these suggestions students will compete in a safe and healthy environment

Epidemiology of school fractures: a 1-year experience in Greek facilitation classes

The purpose of this study was to record bone fractures that were sustained by student-athletes of the Greek Athletic Facilitation Classes (AFC) during a 1-year period. The researchers examined 7455 male and 4921 female student-athletes from September 2006 until May 2007. All fractures were recorded by the Physical Education Teachers of the AFC with the cooperation of orthopaedic doctors, were entered into SPSS and were analysed with the Chi Square non-parametric test. In one year, 129 fractures in total were recorded, and this figure accounted for 11.4% of all injuries sustained by student-athletes of the Greek AFC. Results showed that male student-athletes sustained more fractures than females (67.4% vs. 32.6%, p<0.001). The highest rate of fractures occurred in soccer and basketball, where male student-athletes sustained more fractures than females (78.3% vs. 21.8%, p<0.05). Most injuries occurred in male student-athletes who were residence of the urban region (78.4% vs. 21.6%, p<0.05). Results showed that most fractures occurred during the month of February (χ2=13.12, df=8, p<0.05). The training surfaces on which most fractures occurred was the parquet and the synthetic floor. Overall, fractures of the wrist; metacarpal bones-fingers, and medial-lateral malleollus were the most common injuries observed. Fractures did not require expensive, medical, diagnostic imaging examinations and the total rehabilitation cost in most cases did not exceed 100 Euros